Stay in control

Keeping gambling safe and fun is all about setting limits. For some, it might be enough to simply decide before you start how much money and how much time you are going to allow for the next time you gamble. Many people are able to stick to that. But for others, you might need to find ways of holding yourself to your plan.

One recent development is the opportunity to exclude yourself from a particular form of gambling completely for a period of time. Click here to read more about self-exclusion.

But if that seems more than you need, then we also have some tips to help you control your gambling. These include:

When you go somewhere to gamble, consider how much money you have with you and how much you can access. Maybe leave the debit and credit cards at home and take only the cash you know you can afford to lose without ending the day upset about it.

Online, you can set limits for each of your accounts. Try not to have multiple accounts as this makes it much harder to manage what you spend.

When online or in person, why not set an alarm to remind you when you should stop. It might even be the prompt you need to walk away when you are winning.

If you are not sure if you need to control your gambling better, why not take our 5 minute test to calculate how much you are spending on gambling, and then you can decide if you can afford to keep doing so.

We know that the best way to deal with a gambling problem is to talk to someone about it. We offer free, confidential advice both by phone and face-to-face – or even online if you prefer.

But you can of course take some actions yourself. Why not ask a friend to speak to you a couple of times a week and ask how you’re doing with your goals to manage your gambling?

We’ve helped thousands of people to deal with a gambling problem. Just give us a call on 0808 8020 133.